We have just returned from a one night stay at the Bath Priory.

On arrival we were greeted by warm and friendly staff and within moments we were checked in and shown to our suite.

The hotel is definetely in the old country style without being thread bare. The suite was beautifully appointed and immaculate.

Although we did not have dinner at the hotel due to a prior engagement the service at breakfast and lunch was impeccable, timely and natural.

After a very poor meal in an Italian resturant in the city we returned to the hotel and drawing room for a late night drink. On arrival we found Chris Horridge (Head Chef) mingling with guests and ensuring his menu was served to perfection. We quickly realised what we had missed and drowned our sorrows.

It certainly gives us a excuse to return later in the year.

My wife and I regularly stay for 3+/- nights (4 times a year) at the Bath Priory. I do a lot of air-travel on business and do not relish a holiday that requires passing through an airport! We love the friendly welcoming service at the Bath Priory, and always ask for the same room overlooking the garden.

The staff are always very helpful without being overly attentive, and we enjoy spending much time in the garden (even in the winter).

We enjoy both the indoor and oudoor pools (and can't wait for the open-air pool to open) as well as the spa facilities. I'm not one for exercise machines, so I am happy to leave those for my more energetic fellow guests!

The hotel is close enough to Bath City centre to be able to take a pleasing stroll down through Victoria Park and the Botanical Gardens, returning by bus or taxi with all the shopping! It is a great opportunity to leave the car alone for the weekend.

It is so nice to have time for a leisurely breakfast, and partaking of the full menu means that only a very small snack is required at midday, leaving the mouth watering as we look forward to an exquisite dinner in the fine surroundings. We can't praise the dinner (and lunch) menu's highly enough. The content, quality and above all, the presentation, have to be sampled to be believed.

Bedtime is usually preceeded by a gentle stroll around the garden, and upon retiring to our room, we find that the chambermaid has been to tidy up, and change the bath-towels. And so to bed with those crisp freshly laundered sheets for a perfect night's sleep.

And truly relaxing weekend.

Having hectic jobs in the city, we were really looking forward to a weekend break away and time to de-stress. This was our first visit to the Bath Priory - and we were not disappointed. When booking the hotel, I mentioned we were looking for a romantic room and Carnation was recommended. With a four poster bed and stunning views over the gardens, it was just what we were looking for. The bathroom, we were told, was completely new, and it was very contemporary and spacious. We ventured into Bath late morning and the staff were extremely helpful - giving us plenty of information on specific shops we were looking for and the best places to eat lunch. Returning from Bath, we were quite tired from our shopping spree, and I had treated myself to a Decleor facial in the Spa at the hotel. I have had many treatments in London and I have to say this topped them all! After a stroll around the gardens, we then sat down to dine. The food was certainly the icing on the cake as far as we were concerned. I am not a real "foodie" but each course just melted in the mouth and the combinations of texture and color were amazing! My husband raved about his tuna - which was served with "cobnuts and coriander and bell pepper juices." The overall feel of the hotel is one of warmth and you are genuinely made to feel at home by all the staff - nothing seemed too much trouble. We can't wait until our next visit!

I totally agree with the author of the last review regarding the restaurant of this hotel. I will elaborate on this further into this review. I would have liked to have given this lovely hotel a 4 point rating but for the price there were some service issues which should not of occured and therefore because of this I have only given it a 3 dot rating.
I stayed at The Bath Priory for a post Christmas and New Year Break. I was with my husband and 16 year old son. I called the hotel to make the reservations found them very helpful. The package for New Years Eve was expensive; one night dbb was £710 for my husband and I and £410 for my son. The other nights were £270 per room per night for my husband and I and £180 for my son on a bed and breakfast basis.

Arrival.
We arrived around 5.30pm on a very wet and windy Friday night. Someone came out to the car to help with the luggage and we checked in. My husband rushed off to the loo after a long journey and commented later that there were no hand towels in the gentleman's toilet, not a good start. The staff were very welcoming and showed us to our room, we were however not given a brief tour of the hotel so we would know our barings. I ordered a bottle of champagne to be sent to the room and was asked if I would like Gosset which is the house champagne. However what we received was not Gosset but a name I did not know. I didn't complain but thought if they tell you something it should be correct.
Rooms
The rooms allocated to us were lovely. We had Bluebell, (see photo's) it does overlook the front of the hotel so it is a little noisy if you are a light sleeper.
The other thing I found odd about the room was the trouser press in the wardrobe. You could not take it out because it had been wired into the wardrobe despite ample enough space outside the wardrobe for it to stand. The room though apart from this is charming.
My son had Azalea, which is gorgeous if you are below 5.11. I would recommend this room to a short couple wanting a romantic break. The room is a mini suite with a small sitting room with stairs up to the bedroom which is small with sloping ceilings and a large bathroom with walk in shower and separarte bath. My son loved this room but if he grows any taller it may be a problem if we return.
Both rooms had small Christmas trees with red berry lights and each day bottles of mineral water and fruit presses. They were clean and beautifully furnished and serviced throughout our stay.
DINNER
My husband and I had dinner in the restaurant on the Saturday night while my son was at a party with friends. We sat in the library and waited for some time before anyone came to ask us if we would like a drink and show us a menu. I think the owners were dining too and the staff danced attention on them . We did eventually get served and ordered.
I had been in the health club that afternoon and was speaking to a woman who said she stayed at the hotel several times a year. I asked her what the restaurant was like. She told me they no longer ate there anymore and she and her husband joked that they thought that Chef must have a sorbet making machine which he feels compelled to incorporate into every course. Another guest who was listening to the converation agreed and this was exactly the case with the food over dinner. I ordered Venison to start and to this day I swear it did not resemble or taste like venison but there was a puree of some description with it. The food is good but it is over fussy which detracts from the flavour and quality of produce. Everycourse had some froth or unnecessary goo with it. The service in the restaurant was good but as the previous review stated rather aloof with the exception of the commis waiter. The wine list is excellent as was the selection of cheeses.
BREAKFAST
Issues here. On our first morning we didn't know where to go and when we found the breakfast room no staff were in the restaurant. We waited for a few minutes and someone appeared and showed us to a table. There is a buffett table of fruit juices (only two to choose from though), fruit salad and some cheese. You then order cooked from the menu and the food is excellent. The problem again with breakfast is the staff walk through the restaurant and don't look at the table to see if anything needs topping up. This happened everyday, they either ran out of fruit juice, fruit salad or cereal bowls. When you are paying these prices it is simply not acceptable.
On New Years Day we went down to breakfast being totally unaware that the serviing hours had been extended to serve brunch. We arrived around 9.30am to be told that Brunch was being served until 12 noon. Had we known this we would have not rushed to get up. However you cannot blame restaurant staff for this but management. As we were staying over New Year I would have thought it appropriate (other hotels where we have stayed have done this) to give each guest an itinerary of events.

NEW YEARS EVE
Afternoon tea was served on New Years Eve but we did not know about this until we were about to go out for an afternoon walk that day. Again giving each guest an itinerary of events would have been so simple. We arrived back from our walk at 4.10 (tea started at 4) and were shown into the library. A table of sandwiches and pastries were in the adjoining drawing room, however most of the sanwiches had already disappeared as had the side plates. None of the staff appeared to do anything about this until I pointed out that there were no sandwiches and plates. Eventually some more sandwiches arrived but they kept running out so clearly not enough were made to serve everyone. This should have been a lovely start to the festivities but it was quite frankly chaotic.
Drinks and canopies were served from 7.30 and this was a much more civilized affair and better organised. As I came downstairs in a red dress one of the girls on duty noticed this and said , "Oh I have to go and change something where you are sitting". She had placed a shocking pink feather boa on my chair (men had novelty hats) and realised it would clash with my dress and promptly changed it for a black one. Clearly a member of staff who thinks on her feet and also thinks about the attention to detail, they should employ more like her.
We went into the drawing room for drinks and met two couples who were returning from last year, one of which was vegetarian. This suprised me because the menu was set and not geared towards vegatarians at all. They told me that the alternative food was actually not very good at all but they liked the atmosphere of the night. The food was superb, better I thought than the Saturday night A la Carte. Another vegetarian couple from Germany were on our table and I have to say their food was pathetic. I know all chefs, especially ones holding two Michelin stars tend to adopt the attitude you eat what I cook or nothing, but their starter consisted of a tiny mixed leaf salad and then some vegetables for their main course.
Come on Chef, create some good vegetarian dishes, it's not that hard especially at the prices the hotel charges.
Service was good throughout the night but they did bring us the wrong wine which had to be sent back and coffee was a bit scarce after dinner and I had to wait a very long time for some mint tea. Overall it was a very enjoyable night and the food was superb but that's what we paid for. New Years Eve can so often be a horrible let down but The Bath Priory did (with the exception of afternoon tea) get it right and it was a lovely night.
Room Service.
We ordered room service twice, as the hotel does not do snacks if you want a late lunch only afternoon tea in the drawing room. On both occassions the food was very good as was the service but my husband ordered a steak sandwich and did specifically request it without horseraddish. It arrived with horseraddish so it had to be sent back.
SPA
The spa is getting somewhat tired. The pool is small but adequate but the steam room definately needs an overhall. I had some treatments while I was there and these were good but again the treatment rooms are rather old fashioned.
HOTEL In GENERAL
The hotel is charming, I think if you visit it when you can appreciate the gardens then it must be lovely. The location is very good, about ten minutes walk outside of Bath through the park and the Royal Crescent. We were very lucky with the weather, it was pretty good so we had some super walks. The hotel can order taxi's to take you into Bath or if you want to dine out they are reliable and around £5 maximum. The public rooms are sumptuous with big sofas and books and magazines to read. The hotel is a classic good quality country house hotel with a lovely atmosphere and tranquil surroundings, a little oasis in busy Bath. However at the prices they are charging they do need to address some service issues. However despite these I would return to the hotel but with slightly lower expectations of my first visit.